It's Not So Bad
by Irk Splee
Summary: Mike wasn't sure what to expect out of Total Drama, but he certainly didn't expect to meet someone like her before the show even started. (Pointlessly fluffy Mike and Zoey thing)


Mike's pre-show interview could have gone way better. For starters, it would have been a step up if he could remember most of it. He remembered answering... two questions? Three? At least one had a non-answer, he remembered that. Yeah, two of them, actually. That dream one and the one about childhood memories. Two of the few questions he was awake for, and it was one he couldn't be honest about and one he didn't even have an answer for. Even after the interview finished, it still took a little while for the crew to dismiss him so he could get on the ship. Before they'd let him go, they spent some time standing around, mumbling to themselves and flipping through paperwork. Any attempt he made at asking just what was going on was met with silence, and when they finally did tell him he could leave, that was all they said, with no explanation for the delay or the hushed talks.

The others had come out during the interview. Mike was sure of it.

It wasn't as if he'd been specifically triggered, either; he managed to keep his shirt on the whole time, and he didn't remember any feeling of physical danger, for example. This whole thing must have had him more stressed out than he expected if he had that much trouble staying conscious. Really, what was he expecting? Here he was, ready to go in front of national television so people could laugh at him getting hurt, in the slim hopes of getting famous and maybe winning a million dollars. Not only did he have the same risk as the others here, but there was also the little snag of him possibly getting outed in front of the other contestants – in front of all of Canada – as a broken freak.

Maybe auditioning for this thing in a quick burst of confidence wasn't worth it after all.

After taking a deep breath to prepare himself for this, Mike stepped on the ship that would soon take him to Camp Wawanakwa. Several people had already finished their interviews and boarded, including a blonde girl who sat meditating on the rail – Mike wondered how on Earth she kept her balance, but didn't feel right asking – and a boy who looked far from old enough to meet the age limit of sixteen, who stared at the water in deep fascination. He wondered if he should try to socialize with someone here, but his head still felt a little fuzzy, and besides, a lot of the people here didn't seem up for conversation anyway.

Which was just as well, since he wasn't in the mood to talk, either. He needed some alone time to get his thoughts back in order. He picked a spot against the rail to lean against, then watched as one by one, other contestants started to board. A bespectacled boy who wouldn't take his eyes off his video game as he walked up the ramp and found a place to stand. A redheaded boy in a filthy wife-beater who looked absolutely disinterested in anyone around him. A girl in a ribbon who talked to the air about some distant relative who apparently invented boats.

Mike's interest was most piqued, however, by the last girl to board. She smiled as she boarded, but her slow steps and the crinkles in the corner of her eyes suggested an amount of nervousness that Mike could relate to. She had her bright red hair tied back into short pigtails that didn't reach her shoulders, and she wore several pieces of jewelry; a pair of blue earrings, a black choker, and several red bracelets all adorned her body.

Mike tried his best not to stare, but had no idea how well he did at avoiding that.

"Um... hi, everyone!" she greeted, her right arm raised in a wave. A few people lifted their heads to find the source of the voice, but just as quickly turned away to get back to their own things. The interruption didn't even seem to faze the girl in the ribbon, who had earlier found someone specific to tell her family stories to, although her new target focused too much on spraying her hair just right to care.

Mike opened his mouth to greet her, but no sound came out. His thoughts still felt as if they came through a filter of static, and his heart fluttered faster than it should have. Was his mind still buzzing over the interview? That must have been it. Surely this new girl had nothing to do with the way his thoughts rushed at the moment...

She lowered her hand and frowned at the lack of greeting, then walked across the deck to find an empty section of rail to lean against. Mike watched her walk, and a heat slowly rose in his cheeks. Despite his initial failure at saying anything to her, he still felt a need to try again. She seemed so disappointed at the lack of acknowledgment, and unlike everyone else who had found their own things to lose themselves in, she actually seemed lonely.

All he had to do was walk over to her. Just say hello. Make her feel better. It wasn't as if he was doing anything important right then.

And he couldn't say he wasn't feeling lonely at the moment, either.

With this goal in mind, Mike let go of the rail and turned to approach the girl. Right when he let go, however, the boat lurched forward, immediately knocking him off-balance and sending him face-first into the deck.

He heard a minor commotion from the other contestants, but it didn't last long. Only one voice was loud enough for him to make out the words.

"Are you okay?"

He looked up to find the redheaded girl frowning down at him. She held her hand out. "Do you need help?"

"I'm fine, just lost balance," he answered as he took her hand and pulled himself back up. Her hand was much smaller than his, and so soft and warm... he couldn't help but think it was a shame he had to let go once he regained his footing.

"My name's Zoey," she greeted with her earlier nervous happiness. Her frown had faded almost immediately after hearing he was all right. "What's yours?"

"Mike," he answered, returning her smile. "So, um..." He stepped over to where she stood before helping him up. "Is this spot taken, or...?"

"I don't mind if you stand with me," she answered. "I was hoping to make some new friends here." She gasped after she realized what she'd said. "Not... not that you HAVE to be my friend or anything! I know we just met! But... but I do want someone to talk to. I mean, if that's okay with you."

"Of course it's okay!" he said, but afterward, had nothing more to contribute. What could he talk about? Topics of conversation didn't come easy when he was too busy trying not to do so much as breathe wrong, therefore embarrassing himself. He had to make a good impression, he had to get to know her better, he had to not scare her off... but how?

"So... the lake's nice."

_Was **that **the best I could do?_

Zoey giggled in response, but there was no mocking tone; if anything, the sound helped lift his spirits.

_Oh goodness she's cute._

"It is," she answered. "So, have you been watching Total Drama long?"

"Since the first season."

"Me too! What made you sign up?" The nervous girl who boarded the girl had faded away, to be replaced by a girl who spoke freely, clearly happy to have someone to listen to her.

_Why would someone not want to listen to this girl? She's so..._

Whatever she was, Mike couldn't find the word for it yet. All he knew was to keep this conversation going as long as possible, to keep whatever was going on in his head in reaction to her alive as long as possible.

But how was he supposed to answer that question?

"Just... something to do over the summer, I guess," he answered, punctuating his sentence with a nervous laugh. "I mean, hey, a million dollars, a chance to get famous... who wouldn't, right? Not like I had other plans."

Except when he had to cancel all his doctor appointments for the next two months. None of his doctors were too pleased with that.

She didn't need to know that part.

"So, how about you?" he asked, trying to shake his doctors' various disapproving words from his mind. It was too late to do anything about that even if he wanted to.

"Well, the money, like you said," she said. "Plus, I wanted to get out of the house. I grew up in a small town, and there's really nothing to do there. I figured I could get out, meet some new people... are you into indie stuff?"

Mike shook his head.

"Oh..."

Her clear disappointment had him thinking that he could get into it if she wanted him to.

"But we don't need to like all the same things to be friends, right?" he said, hoping to cheer her up."You said you've been watching since the start? What was your favorite season?"

Zoey perked up again at Mike's continued interest in her. The two passed the time on the ship talking about favorite seasons, favorite episodes, favorite players, favorite couples, anything they could think of discuss, occasionally going off on odd tangents only vaguely related to the show. Mike had no idea how long the boat ride lasted. It didn't feel that long with the constant stream of conversation he had with Zoey. But after a lull in a conversation about what they expected life on the island would be like, Mike realized that they had begun approaching the dock.

"Can you believe we're here?" Zoey asked as she elbowed him in the arm.

"Yeah, it's..." He hadn't really been thinking about where the boat was going. The knowledge still remained in the back of his mind, but it wasn't priority. Instead, he'd spent a lot of the time that wasn't spent on conversation trying to find a word to describe her.

He finally found it. Maybe it was too overblown for how long he'd known her, but at that moment in time, nothing could possibly fit better.

"...beautiful."

No matter how harsh the challenges were this season, this wouldn't be so bad.


End file.
